The $5 Fee Heard 'Round the World

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most people will leave or change banks according to to the fees !!!

Emory Williams of NC 8:45AM May 16, 2012

Just as all big banks have by now decided to abandon debit card-related fees, they have started charging all kinds of other fees. Here are a few examples:
*Bank of America now charges a $5 card replacement fee ($20 for a rush delivery). Additionally, BofA's basic MyAccess checking account now comes with a maintenance fee of $12 a month, up from $8.95.
*U.S. Bancorp now charges 50 cents per mobile payment deposit.
*Starting in December, TD Bank will be charging $15 for each incoming domestic wire transfer.
The list goes on, but the point is that when the dust settles, banks will have managed to recover all revenues they lost when the debit interchange fees were slashed by the Federal Reserve in the wake of the passing of the Durbin Amendment and consumers will be footing the bill. Great job, Sen. Durbin! http://blog.unibulmerchantservices.com/debit-card-fees-may-be-gone-but-overall-banking-costs-go-up

J.G. of MA 6:49PM November 14, 2011

Thay should call the $5 a month fee "The Durbin Fee".

Gary Mann of IL 11:11AM November 14, 2011

"big retailers won't pass on the savings"
Actually at least one has.
I was pleasantly surprised, when filling up at my Arco that the $.45 fee had been reduced to $.35.
I had always disliked the fee, figuring it was more expensive for them to handle cash, but it was an actual expense from the banks, and their gas is always cheaper.
But seeing them reduce the fee right after the reduction legislation was great. Yes, there are capitalists who are 'not greedy' in the evil sense.

Tim of CA 4:52PM November 13, 2011

This is an interesting article that touches on several points around the Durbin Amendment. Specifically, the $5 fee that was proposed by Bank of America and some of the other large banks is one way that banks thought they might recoup some of the revenue lost because of the Amendment.
However a holistic approach to managing costs has never been more urgent for banks. The Durbin Amendment’s cap on interchange fees from debit card transactions will have a serious impact on the profitability of deposit accounts. There’s no question of withdrawing these kinds of card products – they are too pervasive and too popular. Instead, banks have to develop new profitability models for deposit accounts. This includes looking for cost savings within the underlying support system, for example by capitalizing investments in newer/lower cost technology, consolidating systems and processes, renegotiating vendor contracts, changing suppliers, redeploying and cross-training staff, and retiring products that consume too many costly resources compared to their peers. They can deploy new products or services that consume less system resources or operational burden, and investigate strategic out- or in-sourcing to produce short-term economic gains as well as long-term value. The Durbin Amendment has not destroyed banks profits, just changed the way in which they will be achieved.
Andy Brown, director, product marketing management, ACI Worldwide

Andy Brown of NE 12:15PM November 11, 2011